Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,354,142 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 7.46% of Morgan Stanley worth $16,779,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $159.69 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $160.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.50. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $171.77. The firm has a market cap of $253.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.